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Officer Franks, Officer of the Fourth Quarter

The Excellence in Law Enforcement Committee selected Officer Franks as Officer of the Fourth Quarter of 2009. Officer Franks demonstrated performance above and beyond that which is routinely expected. The Excellence in Law Enforcement Committee said Officer Franks has developed into a phenomenal K9 handler who maintains an extremely high level of all around performance. He is remarkably disciplined and his dedication to his profession is unquestionable. He has been an active K9 handler for more than four years and has been with Spike for over three. In that time his efforts have led to an untold number of arrests that would not have been possible without him. The factor that is less tangible is the crime deterrence and officer safety benefits that he has provided this department. He and his dog’s presence alone regularly contribute to a suspect’s submission. Officer Franks’ dog "uses" number around 150 per year. Some of the most respected police K9 experts in the region have commented on his skills as a handler and have said that he operates at a level well beyond his tenure in that position.

Incredibly, Officer Franks manages much more than his responsibilities as a dog handler. In October 2009, he took over fifty calls for service in just ten days of work, more than any of his peers. Many of those calls had Officer Franks acting as the primary investigating officer. Officer Franks has been formally commended twice in this quarter. Once for his participation in an active apartment fire and the second for his work that led to the arrest of two wanted burglars.

In addition to his street performance, Officer Franks dedicates himself to public appearance events. He is constantly volunteering to speak at a wide variety of venues where citizens can have the opportunity to learn more about what he does; and consequently become more supportive of our mutual goals.

Here are some specific examples of Officer Franks work:

Officer Franks responded to a shooting/armed suspect call at the Village Inn restaurant. A suspect fired a shot in the bathroom then ran into a grocery store down the street. Officers took up positions around the store and waited for him to exit. He was ordered to the ground at gunpoint when he came out. Officer Franks downed Spike while he assisted with patting the suspect down and clearing the weapon that they found on his person. His police dog did not break obedience and provided a critical layer of officer safety while the suspect was taken into custody.

Franks was asked to assist Air Force OSI agents with a controlled drug buy operation in Bellevue. He used his police dog to assist with high risk traffic stops on the involved suspects. Once they were in custody, Officer Franks used Spike to sniff the vehicles. The dog alerted, giving officers probable cause to search. They found drugs in the car.

Officers stopped a vehicle with six overly nervous passengers; including two gang members. Officer Franks used his dog to conduct an exterior sniff. After the dog alerted, the driver admitted to having smoked marijuana in the car. The subsequent officer search found several hollowed out cigars and loose marijuana residue. Officer Franks had his dog sniff the interior of the car. This led to an alert on the glove box. Officers then found additional evidence of marijuana use.

Officer Franks assisted Council Bluffs Police with a random school sniff. One student tried leaving the area prior to his vehicle being sniffed. Officers got him stopped. Officer Franks used his dog to conduct a vehicle sniff. After Spike alerted, another service dog was used to confirm the alert. The second dog alerted on the same area. The vehicle was searched, and a marijuana pipe with residue, a small scale, and marijuana seeds and stems were found.

Officer Franks stopped a car for a broken taillight. He smelled marijuana when he made contact with the driver. The suspect admitted to having smoked it in the car, but denied having any left. Officer Franks had a back up unit assist while he started an exterior police dog sniff. As the dog alerted on the car, the suspect yelled out that he had more inside. He handed Officer Franks a small amount of marijuana and a pipe.

K9 coordinator Officer Jim Bartley reported on Officer Franks’ activity in October. Officer Bartley said that Officer Franks went to fifty radio calls in just ten shifts. He also had twelve K9 use reports. This was the most activity for the unit with the next highest K9 officer attending just seventeen radio calls.

Officer Franks was requested for a vehicle sniff on another officer’s traffic stop. The driver was nervous and the primary officer said that he thought he smelled marijuana. Officer Franks spoke to the driver when he arrived. He also noted that the driver was nervous and "unhappy" that the K9 was there. Officer Franks used his patrol dog for an exterior sniff of the car. After he received an alert, officers searched the vehicle and found a pipe with marijuana residue, a jar with a large marijuana bud, and a bowl with loose marijuana.

Officer Franks was sent to assist with a criminal mischief in progress. Juveniles had been seen kicking a fence apart at a business. Officer Franks began searching the neighborhood near the business. He found a group of juveniles that he suspected may be involved. Officer Franks was able to obtain some admissions and find the ones responsible. He contacted their parents who made arrangements with the business owner to have the fence repaired.

Officer Franks was called to a physical domestic violence assault in progress. The suspect had assaulted his girlfriend and fled out the back door of their home. Officer Franks used his dog for a search of the back yard. There was a large shed full of trash and debris. Spike went to the door of the shed where he alerted then indicated with a single bark. The police dog then tried to crawl over the trash into the shed, but Officer Franks called him back for his safety. Officers approached carefully and were able to see the suspect hiding under debris. He was taken into custody without incident.

Officer Franks assisted Sarpy County Sheriff’s deputies with a disturbance/MIP call. Deputies found that juveniles had been drinking and smoking marijuana. The owner’s of the home wanted officers to check the home for drugs. Officer Franks used his police service dog. Spike alerted in a bedroom. Officers conducted a focused search based on the dog’s indication. They found marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Following a burglary of a home, two male suspects stole the victim’s Dodge Durango SUV. The victim’s cell phone was in the car allowing dispatch to receive GPS information about the suspect’s location every few minutes. Officers received updates until they were advised that the phone/vehicle had stopped moving at the Pavilion Apartments. Several Bellevue officers came into the area to assist the Sarpy County Sheriffs. The vehicle was found without the suspects. Officer Franks used his police service dog, Spike, to track the suspect’s path away from the SUV. That track led officers along one of the buildings. Officer Abbott was following the K9 unit when he saw a male looking out of a hole in the blinds from a lower apartment. When Officer Abbott looked at him, the male ducked down and covered himself with a blanket. Officer Abbott shined his flashlight through the window, but the male would not move. They were unsuccessful with having anyone answer the door. Dispatch called the renter, who was not home. She came to the complex and let officers in. With Officers Abbott and German assisting him, Officer Franks used his police dog to search the apartment. Spike hit on a cabinet in the bathroom. One suspect was located in that cabinet and taken into custody. Officer Abbott found the second suspect hiding under a pile of clothes in a bedroom closet. The outstanding efforts from Officer Franks, Officer Abbott, and Officer German led to the arrests of both suspects. They were charged with the burglary and arrested on active warrants. A substantial amount of stolen property was recovered with the vehicle. The suspects had even stooped low enough to steal the victim’s Christmas presents; which were also recovered!

Officer Franks was called to assist another officer on a traffic stop. The primary officer thought he smelled marijuana and found that the driver had a felony conviction for manufacturing a controlled substance. Officer Franks had his service dog perform an exterior vehicle sniff. There was a male pit-bull in the car at the time, but Spike was not distracted. He alerted on the car, which allowed officers to search. They found marijuana.

Officer Franks was called for an auto theft report at a local car dealer. He started a methodical investigation detailing everything in a well-written five page narrative. Officer Franks was able to uncover information that showed the intent of the suspect. This incident could have been mistakenly labeled as an unauthorized use, or even a civil matter. Officer Franks was unable to find the transient suspect and forwarded the case to the Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB) for some Omaha addresses to be checked. Several days later, he saw that the suspect from his case had been shot in Omaha. Officer Franks learned that he was being treated at a local hospital. He immediately contacted CIB with this new information to have the suspect interviewed.